Sol Campbell jets in at Macclesfield (and watches them face Exeter)

S.O.S. for Sol Campbell: Former England defender jets in at Football League’s bottom club Macclesfield (and even watches them face Exeter)

Former defender Sol Campbell has been appointed manager of Macclesfield

The 44-year-old agreed to take over at Football League’s bottom club on Tuesday

On Tuesday night, Campbell caught a late flight to watch them face Exeter

By

Joe Bernstein for the Daily Mail

Published:
00:03 GMT, 28 November 2018

| Updated:
00:32 GMT, 28 November 2018

New Macclesfield Town boss Sol Campbell showed he is a manager in a hurry by catching a late flight to watch his League Two strugglers at Exeter on Tuesday night.

The 44-year-old, who has been turned down for managerial jobs previously and complained that ethnic-minority coaches don’t get opportunities, accepted the post on Tuesday afternoon.

Within a couple of hours, the former Tottenham, Arsenal and England defender was at Manchester Airport and he boarded the 5pm Flybe service to Exeter to assess his new players in action at St James Park, where they responded with a 1-0 victory.

Sol Campbell flew in to watch his new side Macclesfield face Exeter on Tuesday evening

The former defender was appointed the manager of the League Two strugglers earlier that day

Campbell watched from the stands as his side picked up a crucial three points on Tuesday

Macclesfield and Campbell might seem like the odd couple, but there is plenty to gain for both parties from him starting his managerial career at tiny Moss Rose on an 18-month contract.

Macclesfield, who sacked previous manager Mark Yates last month, are bottom of the Football League and staring at an immediate return to the National League.

Owner Amar Alkadhi will be aware of the risk in appointing a novice, but his gamble to give Campbell’s 1998 World Cup team-mate Paul Ince the job in 2006-07 paid off. The Silkmen were seven points off safety in League Two when Ince arrived but stayed up.

For Campbell, whose only experience of League Two is one unhappy game for Sven Goran Eriksson’s Notts County against Morecambe in 2009, this a chance to show what he can do as a No 1. He had a spell as assistant manager of Trinidad and Tobago’s national team.

Campbell spent 10 days recently working alongside England Under 21 manager Aidy Boothroyd and said: ‘It’s given me the confidence to know that I’ve got the tools, but I just need to get a situation and a nice gig somewhere.’

The former England defender was announced as the next Macclesfield boss on Tuesday

He posted an image of himself in a shirt and tie on his Instagram page on Tuesday on the way to completing negotiations with Macclesfield, accompanied by the caption: ‘Football moves fast! My work started 2 years ago. Keep on moving!’

Campbell has seen the Macclesfield players train and made it clear he will take a pragmatic approach to keeping them in the League.

He won’t expect them to have the same ability as former Premier League colleagues and will insist they don’t try anything fancy in their own half.

Macclesfield have not broken their wage structure to finance Campbell’s wages but he will receive a bonus if he keeps them up. As a player, Campbell is regarded as the finest English defender of the Premier League era alongside John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

Macclesfield’s statement made a point of describing the former centre back as a ‘born winner’.

Campbell worked with England’s Under 21 side during the last international break

Campbell had an illustrious playing career and picked up plenty of silverware at Arsenal

He came through the ranks at Spurs and captained them to the 1999 League Cup before causing a furore by joining north London rivals Arsenal in 2001 having run down his contract.

Under Arsene Wenger, Campbell was part of the 2004 Invincibles team. He also lifted the FA Cup with Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth in 2008.

He won 73 England caps, scoring one goal, and featured in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. There have also been difficult times. At Arsenal, he walked out of a game at half-time against West Ham after making errors, and ended his Notts County career after 90 minutes.

Macclesfield midfielder Danny Whitaker had been in temporary charge following Yates’s sacking. He picked the team for Tuesday night’s game at Exeter. Campbell will be formally unveiled on Thursday.

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